Multiculturalism still viewed favourably despite growing concern about arrivals, social cohesion report finds

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TRANSCRIPT:
“Social cohesion should not be taken for granted.”
“And social cohesion, I should say.”
“And the breakdown of social cohesion across society.”
 
It’s an inescapable term in Australian politics this year.
And whilst its repetition in the halls of power may make it seem like nothing more than a buzz word, for the Scanlon Foundation, it’s an important part of Australian society.
It’s what they’ve been measuring since 2007.
“Social cohesion, those sort of connections and bonds that hold us together, connections between people and governments, have sort of been declining since 2020, since the COVID-19 pandemic.”
 
That’s co-author of the Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Cohesion report, Dr James O’Donnell.
The report gives a final score to the level of social cohesion in Australia – this year its 78, the equal lowest score on record. 
The highest ever score was 101 in 2008.
But Dr O’Donnell says the results have held steady this year.
“It had been declining to 2023, particularly with the emergence of cost of living pressures. But over the last 12 months at least, and despite all of the challenges we’ve faced over the last 12 months, lots of our indicators have been pretty stable.”
Around 8,000 people were surveyed for the index, which measures social cohesion in five different areas – worth, social justice and inclusion, acceptance, belonging, and political participation.
It’s found the vast majority Australians still view multiculturalism favourably despite growing concern about the number of new arrivals.
Almost half of Australians believe immigration levels are too high – up from 33 per cent last year.
“Immigration is fantastic for Australia. I came here when I was eight years old. My mother came here as a refugee, and it’s great. And I think it’s really sad the way the government restrict it.”
“Generally, it is good for Australia. If people come in here documented, and don’t just arrive on our shores and expect to come in.”
“It’s good for Australia. But the government have to handle it very carefully to make the people who migrate here useful.”
 
Peter Khalil was appointed as Special Envoy for Social Cohesion earlier this year.
He says he isn’t concerned about people’s attitudes towards immigration.
“Australians want to see an immigration system that is that it has integrity, that is functional, that actually works to fill the skill shortages that we have. And the really important point, and the encouraging point, is that actually all those people, over 80% support and support migrants and their contribution to Australian society and support the multicultural society that we have.”
More than 40 per cent of Australians surveyed have described themselves as either poor or struggling to pay bills.
Dr O’Donnell says that impacts people’s sense of belonging.
“When we’re struggling to pay bills we’re less likely to say we have a sense of belonging, we’re less likely to say we trust others and we trust in government. We’re a little bit less accepting of others and our differences and diversity as well.”
The report has also signalled cooling attitudes towards religion across all major faith groups, with fewer people reporting they feel positively towards Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs. 
Attitudes towards Jewish and Muslim people are also declining, in part due to the war in Gaza.
One third of Australians now report they have a somewhat or very negative attitude towards Muslims, up 7 points from 2023, and negative attitudes towards Jewish people have increased from 9 per cent to 13 per cent in the last year.
That’s not surprising to Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
“It doesn’t surprise me that people have a worse view of the Jewish community. And we’re certainly feeling it. We’re feeling it in terms of exclusion, in terms of discrimination, in terms of street abuse and vilification.
 
President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Adel Salman, says the last year has been challenging.
“I think we are generally a cohesive society, but there’s no doubt that the last year has placed an enormous strain on our bonds.”
 
And some language from politicians has impacted people’s views on Arab and Muslim people.
“They’ve actually stoked anti-immigrant sentiments, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian sentiment. And that is really, I think, impacted the Muslim community, the Arab community, the Palestinian community, who feel, I guess, a lack of inclusivity, and a real sense of not belonging here in Australia.”
 
Mr Khalil says the government has focused on supporting Jewish and Muslim communities in Australia.
“Whatever is happening on the other side of the world is not a justification to attack someone because of their faith background or their ethnicity. And Muslim Australians and Jewish Australians should not be subjected to that kind of discrimination and that kind of prejudice. The federal government has been very cognisant of these challenges. That’s why we’ve been supportive of the communities with a lot of support around mental health protection, around their community groups and organisations, their schools, their community centres and so on, funding to try and help those communities navigate this difficult period and to provide support for those communities.”